Access terminals, such as cell phones and wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), are operable to communicate with radio access networks, such as cellular wireless networks. The access terminals and access networks typically communicate with each other over a radio frequency (RF) air interface according to a wireless protocol such as 1x Evolution Data Optimized (1x Ev-DO), perhaps in conformance with one or more industry specifications such as IS-856, Revision 0, IS-856, Revision A, and IS-856, Revision B. Other wireless protocols, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), may be used as well.
Access networks typically provide services such as voice, text messaging (such as Short Message Service (SMS) messaging), and packet-data communication, among others. Access networks typically include a plurality of base stations, each of which forms one or more coverage areas, such as cells and sectors (that is, individual areas of a cell that allow the cell to carry more calls). When an access terminal is positioned in one of these coverage areas, it can communicate over the air interface with the base station, and in turn over a signaling network or a transport network, or both. The signaling network may be a circuit-switched network, a packet-switched network or a combination of both. Similarly, the transport network may be a circuit-switched network, a packet-switched network or a combination of both.
Access terminals and access networks may conduct communication sessions (for example, voice calls and data sessions) over a pair of frequencies known as carriers, with a base station of an access network transmitting to an access terminal on one of the frequencies, and the access terminal transmitting to the base station on the other. This is known as frequency division duplex (FDD). The carriers may be segmented into various channels, such as pilot channels, sync channels, paging channels, control channels, traffic channels, and access channels. A base station to access terminal communication link is known as the forward-link, whereas an access terminal to base station communication link is known as the reverse-link.
Using paging channels, the radio access network can transmit paging messages destined for an access terminal based on where the access terminal is registered within the radio access network. In some cases, such as when an access terminal is handing over from one base station to another base station in order to register with the other base station, the access terminal may not receive paging messages destined for the access terminal because the access ten final is located outside of a paging area in which the paging messages are transmitted. Transmitting messages in a paging area in which the access terminal is not located can unnecessarily increase congestion on the paging channels in the paging area.